Looking for advice/review of my dry vocals

[Theapprentice]

Hello yall!

So ive been wanting to post cover songs on youtube for the longest time; ive done lots of research on the right gear and the overall process over the past several years. Ive pretty much gathered all I can (mic, preamp/audio interface, stand, monitoring headphones), and have attempted many recordings. Not surprisingly, my recordings have suffered from sounding extremely amateur and VERY muddy (recording in my bedroom). So I understand the importance of room treatment, and Ive recently constructed 5 bass traps (48'x30'x6'). I plan on putting together more traps when my budget allows, but for now these 5 traps are all I have to work with. So i havent actually mounted them yet, what ive done instead is have them around me while im recording. Ive noticed a pretty dramatic improvement in clarity, but it seems to me that theres much room for improvement. Id really appreciate anyones critique of these dry vocals in terms of quality, muddiness, frequency balance, and such. Im a massive newbie when it comes to this area, so I really appreciate any advice. The link to my dry vocals is below (its on youtube): Also it starts at 16 seconds, I forgot to trim it (my b)

 

[keith.rogers]

Well, a "dry" vocal is typically what is recorded, and then in the mixing phase we add the EQ and reverb to "make it prettier" as well as sit in a mix. It's hard enough to evaluate a single track, and one's own voice can really be a challenge.

I didn't hear a lot of room though there is some background level noise, but I think that would disappear in a mix. "Mud" is something that usually builds up with more than one track. On a vocal, it's often a warning that proximity effect is too present, so move the pop filter away from the mic an inch and try again, perhaps.

Maybe describe your recording chain, and what you do to the vocal track in your mixing phase. Maybe a short clip (try SoundCloud for just audio) of your voice in the mix. And, yes, trim it to just the part you want us to listen to.